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Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Segway teams with GM on new urban vehicle PUMA
By Mass High Tech staff
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New Hampshire-based personal transportation company Segway Inc. yesterday announced a deal with General Motors Corp. to produce a two-wheeled, electric-powered urban transportation vehicle.
GM and Bedford-based Segway demonstrated the PUMA (Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility) vehicle at the New York Auto Show. While no financial detail of the deal were released, Segway will provide the lithium-ion batteries and the gyro-stabilization technology, while GM provides the body design, navigation and communication technology and the manufacturing capability.
The PUMA is a two-seat vehicle that balances on two wheels, not unlike balancing a wheelchair. It is designed to be a lower cost urban transporation vehicle, according to the companies, with a planned range of approximately 35 miles and a top speed of 35 mile per hour.
By using the vehicle-to-vehicle communications systems and transponder technology GM pioneered with its OnStar service, the companies say the goal is to eventually have cities full of connected vehicles that don’t crash and drive themselves.
Privately held Segway landed a $5 million Series D venture funding in August of 2008. Segway was founded by N.H.-based inventor Dean Kamen, who developed the device and its SmartMotion balancing and control technology.
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